West Ham United legend Tony Cottee has performed yet another u-turn over the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini as manager.

Less than a week after the Hammers parted company with former Manchester United manager David Moyes - despite him leading the club to a 13th-placed finish in the Premier League last season - the ex-Real Madrid boss was confirmed as his replacement.

Initially Cottee gave off the impression that he felt Pellegrini was the perfect appointment.

“We need nice, strong leadership now and someone that can really get hold of things and take the club forward,” Cottee told the club's official website . “Pellegrini can do that.”

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However, following four straight defeats in the Premier League at the start of the season, Cottee changed his mind and claimed that he didn't understand the appointment of Pellegrini and was fearful of another relegation battle.

“We had someone at the club in David Moyes who could have done that but no, the board decide to go and choose someone else," he told the Daily Mirror . "I just don’t understand the appointment [of Pellegrini]. I didn’t understand the appointment at the time.

“We should have kept David Moyes.

David Moyes manager of Manchester United and Manuel Pellegrini manager of Manchester City shake hands in 2013. (Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

“It is alright saying Pellegrini is a great manager but when you are managing Manchester City and have the best players in the world it is a lot easier than coming to West Ham and having to motivate the players. I don’t get that impression that he is going to motivate and inspire the players.

“Absolutely I am worried it is going to be a battle to stay up. The next three games [against Everton, Chelsea and Manchester United] are absolutely vital.

“The ironic thing is if they were to get rid of Pellegrini they would be saying ‘We need a Sam Allardyce or David Moyes to come in and steady the ship’, which is what they had in the first place.

“I had my doubts when we lost the first four games,” Cottee admitted on talkSPORT. “I went on record I spoke to you guys at talkSPORT about David Moyes not getting the chance to build on what he done last year, but that’s all water under the bridge.

“He’s a good manager, he has managed Man City etc so you’d like to think he’s the right man, so listen he’s 64 years of age so he’s not necessarily someone who will take on the club for the next 10 or 15 years.

“But no one does that now a days, but for the future I think…for the immediate future, he’s probably the right man.”

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